Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

LIVE: We Are Not Machines - with Sarah O'Connor

When the Luddites smashed factory frames in a bid to defend their craft and livelihoods, the machines came out on top. Today, AI and automation threaten to wipe out skilled jobs and flood us with inferior products at a fraction of the price: is history going to repeat itself? FT journalist and author of We Are Not Machines Sarah O'Connor joins Tim to discuss her findings from the front lines about the future of work. Which professions are most at risk, and is there anything workers can do about it?   See the show notes at TimHarford.com [https://timharford.com/] Sarah's book, "We Are Not Machines: The Fight for the Future of Work", is available here [https://guardianbookshop.com/we-are-not-machines-9780241704226/] (UK) and for pre-order here [https://www.amazon.com/We-Are-Not-Machines-Future/dp/1567928366/ref=sr_1_1?crid=H86QNNDYO6AE&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.otHLew_otxwdiH8xyyvEwHyOlK6BiNfARXkSOYMEC4xcsi-LlCjp3O__eHz80TSXSwRNb_NTIUpLwnDT79g2X_DZ6fJIwsu4XLQg3kmU35PRSmD82Ka3v9R3H5_6FjA5V5sQcsQf-Fb2PwyyNUWHEsz74wb4C4qQpdwrtICFNWFf8fUqjljfwY88-8vrDpa9QPVI9dqmtY7KqkGIBZvMHwGvfollJloZ4R1Zzi0oY1g.muNnnZb0EZo5xBXuw25WEGhwM2woRKCBU70RC3KTd0I&dib_tag=se&keywords=we+are+not+machines&qid=1782997834&sprefix=we+are+not+machin%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-1] (US).  See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Treacle Tears: The Boston Molasses Disaster

The children of North End, Boston, play in the shadow of an enormous steel tank of molasses. The thick, sticky sugar syrup is being used to make munitions for the First World War. When a worker notices dark molasses seeping from the tank he warns the company that there could be a leak. But the man in charge, Arthur Jell, has more important things to worry about: schedules to meet and profits to make. Besides, it's only sugar. How dangerous could it be? For the sources, see the show notes at timharford.com [https://timharford.com/]. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

The Thief, the Jewels, and the Dublin Castle Conspiracy

In the early 1900s, Sir Arthur Vickers keeps the magnificent Irish Crown Jewels safe under lock and key at Dublin Castle. When the jewels disappear, the King rages, the police investigate, and even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gets involved. No one is ever charged and no jewels are ever recovered. Except, we have a very good idea of who took them, and why the truth has stayed buried.  For a list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.com [https://timharford.com/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

The Dunning Canoe-ger Effect

When John Darwin walks into a shop in London, it causes an instant stir. After all, John Darwin has been dead for five years. He claims to have amnesia, but everyone - from the police and the media to his insurance company - suspects he is lying. No one can prove a thing, until a young woman at home with her baby thinks of something everyone else has missed.   For the show notes, see timharford.com [https://timharford.com/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Presenting...This is History: A Dynasty to Die For

This episode comes to you from the new series of This is History, the podcast which tells the story of the Plantagenet Dynasty. Historian Dan Jones takes you through 300 years of calamities, wars and rebellions that marked the end of the Middle Ages and the rise of the Tudor Dynasty. This is the first episode of the tenth series, where you'll meet 13-year-old Margaret Beaufort and her newborn, Henry Tudor.  Listen to This is History [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-is-history-a-dynasty-to-die-for/id1641568639] wherever you get your podcasts. If you are a member of our Cautionary Club, you can listen ad-free with a month's free membership to their Patreon. Look out for the gift link on our Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/cw/CautionaryClub].  See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.